


Danger Line

by HunterusHeroicus93



Category: Young Wallander (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Swearing, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29752506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterusHeroicus93/pseuds/HunterusHeroicus93
Summary: Kurt accidentally wanders into a rival gang's territory.
Relationships: Kurt Wallander & Reza Al-Rahman
Comments: 7
Kudos: 5





	Danger Line

Kurt couldn’t sleep. His mind was running a hundred miles an hour, and nothing he did would make it shut off. He decided to go for a walk. It was three A.M. and freezing out, but he didn’t care. He got dressed and headed out into the brisk early morning.   
  
He didn’t pay much attention to where he was going - he just walked. It was only when he heard a gruff voice behind him that he looked up and realised he’d wandered into a rival gang’s territory.   
  
“What you doing here, pig?”   
  
Kurt turned around, taking a step backwards.   
  
“Nothing, I was just walking. I’m sorry. I don’t want any trouble.” He turned away again, intending to circle around the block towards home, but someone else blocked his path. He faced the gang leader again.   
  
“We told you, pigs ain’t welcome ‘round here,” he spat. He nodded at the other man, who grabbed Kurt’s arms, pulling them behind his back.   
  
“Wait, please,” Kurt said, struggling against the man’s strong grip. Fingertips dug into his arms, and he winced in pain. “I’m not here to cause trouble, I swear. I just didn’t realise where I was.”   
  
“Maybe this’ll teach you to look where you’re going.” The gang leader threw a punch that connected with Kurt’s jaw, hard. His head snapped to the side. He spat out some blood, then looked up again.   
  
“You don’t have to do this. I’ll leave. I’ll go home right now, and we can put this behind us.”   
  
The gang leader scoffed. “I don’t think so.” He lashed out again, this time directed at Kurt’s stomach. Kurt doubled over, gasping.   
  
“Your boy Bashir’s not here to save you this time,” the leader said, leaning close to Kurt.   
  
Kurt didn’t answer. He knew no one was coming to help him. The hits came swiftly then. The leader’s second dropped his arms and let him fall to the ground, and now they were both on him, kicking and punching any part of him they could reach. He curled up, trying to protect his head and vital organs from the worst of the assault.   
  
Eventually, the blows stopped. By the time he looked up, the two thugs had gone. He rolled onto his back slowly, hissing at every movement. With a pang of regret, he remembered his phone, sitting on his bedside table. He was going to have to get up and find help, or else he would freeze to death on the side of the road.   
  
With a groan, he heaved himself into a sitting position, then to his knees. Every muscle screamed at him to stop, but he ignored the pain. He took a breath, then stood. He staggered slightly, and had to brace himself on a nearby wall. Kurt stayed there for a few moments, gasping.   
  
_ Okay, Kurt. Think. _ Should he try to get home? Would he even make it that far? Or should he just walk and hope he found some other lonely insomniac walking the streets at this time of night? He didn’t want to risk running into one of the gang members again - they might decide he hadn’t learned his lesson and had come back for more. Home it was, then. He turned, and continued walking in his original direction, then turned left and headed down a short alleyway. Kurt checked the street beyond in both directions before stepping out, then headed left again. He should be back on his own soil before long, then he would be safe. Until then, he was keeping to the shadows.   
  
***   
  
As Kurt stumbled along, he wondered vaguely what time it was. His body was beginning to numb. The adrenaline had worn off a short while ago, and now he felt the cold. He collapsed to his knees against a wall, his breath shallow and his eyes heavy. He barely registered the car drive past, then slow down and reverse. A door opened and shut, and footsteps came towards him. The owner of the feet shone a torch over him.   
  
“Hey, are you- shit,  _ Kurt? _ ”   
  
Kurt raised his head, shielding his eyes from the light.   
  
“Rez,” he whispered. “That you?”   
  
Reza knelt in front of him. “Yeah, it’s me, Kurt. What happened?” He reached out and touched Kurt’s cheek, then pulled his hand back with a gasp. “You’re freezing. Let’s get you in the car.”   
  
He hauled Kurt to his feet and half-dragged him to the car, one arm slung over his shoulder. Once they were both inside, Reza turned to Kurt, who was slumped against the window.   
  
“Kurt, are you still with me? What happened?”   
  
Kurt shuddered as he took a breath, feeling his body slowly start to warm up. He turned his head to look at Reza.   
  
“Fuck,” Reza whispered.   
  
“How bad is it?” Kurt asked with a grim smile.   
  
Reza swallowed, not sure whether to tell him the truth.   
  
“C’mon, Rez. I can tell it’s bad by the look on your face.”   
  
Reza nodded. “It’s bad, man.”   
  
Kurt sighed and closed his eyes.   
  
“I'm taking you to the hospital,” Reza said, starting up the engine.   
  
“Forget it,” Kurt answered immediately. “Just take me home, please.”   
  
“Kurt -”   
  
“Please,” Kurt said, looking at Reza again. “I’ll be fine. The hospital will ask questions, and I’m not going to make a big deal out of this.”   
  
“Out of what?” Reza asked curiously. “Who did this?”   
  
“No one.”   
  
“No one?”   
  
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter,” Kurt huffed.   
  
“Were you mugged?” Reza asked.   
  
Kurt nodded. “Sure.”   
  
“Dammit, Kurt, you have to give me something. We need to find whoever did this and arrest them. They can’t get away with this.”   
  
“They can and they will,” Kurt said firmly. He gave Reza a look that he hoped would get the message across. _ Don’t pursue it, Reza. Please. _ _   
_ _   
_ He didn’t want to start a war between the two neighbouring gangs. Their truce was already unstable as it was. If he had those guys arrested, it could get a whole lot worse for everyone, least of all him.   
  
They pulled up to his building, and Reza went to Kurt’s side to help him out. Kurt got shakily to his feet, and leaning on Reza, headed towards the door. The stairs took far longer than usual, and they had to stop several times to let Kurt rest, but eventually, they made it to his apartment. Reza went to fetch some warm water and cloth, while Kurt sank onto his bed and shrugged off his jacket and shirt. Bruises were already starting to cover his torso. Reza grit his teeth as he looked over Kurt, trying to figure out if anything was broken. Luckily, nothing seemed to be.   
  
“I’d feel better if you went to the hospital, Kurt,” Reza said as he applied the damp cloth to Kurt’s face.   
  
Kurt said nothing.   
  
“You know I have no medical training, right? I’m not qualified to do this.”   
  
“You have basic first aid, Rez.”   
  
Reza sighed. “I do. But this isn’t a grazed knee, and you’re not Shaba. You took a severe beating tonight. You’re lucky I was just finishing my shift. You could have died.”   
  
“But I didn’t,” Kurt argued. “You were there.”   
  
“I might not have been. I decided to stay late tonight to finish up some paperwork. Rask tried to get me to go home, but I didn’t fancy the early start tomorrow.”   
  
Kurt laughed softly. “I guess I am lucky, then.”   
  
Reza scoffed. He finished cleaning the worst of the blood and got to his feet. “Call in sick tomorrow.”   
  
“Fine.”   
  
“I mean it, Kurt. If Rask sees you like this, she’ll take you to the hospital herself.”   
  
“I’ve got it, Rez. I’ll call in sick,” Kurt huffed.   
  
“Good. I’ll see you soon.” Reza headed for the door.   
  
“Thanks, Rez,” Kurt said softly.   
  
Reza looked back at him, nodded once, then left.   
  
Kurt lay back slowly, not bothering to remove the rest of his clothes. He was asleep within minutes, and he stayed that way for the rest of the night.


End file.
